Guardian Stalker
A Guardian Stalker is a Guardian-type enemy in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Overview These can be found all over Hyrule, mainly through the Central Hyrule region, however there are some scattered in remote areas. Some may appear deactivated until approached, while others will be seen patrolling around, with a blue light on their eyes. History 10,000 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, the Kingdom of Hyrule began advancing their technology with the Sheikah. Development began for these weapons to aid the Hero and the Goddess's descendant in defeating Calamity Ganon. These were created alongside Divine Beasts, Towers, Shrines, and other technology, and served as replacements to Guardian Scouts, which were seen as underpowered. As Ganon appeared, the Guardians and the Divine Beasts surrounded Ganon, with the Hero and the Goddess's descendant in the center. They successfully seal away Ganon. Over the centuries, the use of technology dwindled, and eventually died out, until the rediscovery of this ancient technology. 9,900 years after the aforementioned events, the Kingdom of Hyrule opted to reuse this technology, with the aid of the Sheikah researchers. They got to the extent of being able to control Guardians and Divine Beasts and revealing some uses of the Sheikah Slate. However, Princess Zelda, who contributed to lots of the research, failed to unveil the power of the Goddess. This led the majority of the Sheikah technology to be controlled by Calamity Ganon upon his return and wreak havoc and destruction among most of Hyrule, resulting in the deaths of the King Rhoam, four of the Champions of Hyrule, and the majority of the army of Hyrule, along with inhabitants within Hyrule Castle Town and other settlements. The Champion Link was also mortally wounded in a battle against Guardians at Fort Hatento/Cherry Field, to the extent where he had to be transported to the Chamber of Resurrection to be put in the Slumber of Restoration for 100 years. Over the course of these years, the Guardians started to break down and deactivate, however, a large number remains. Even as Link wakes up, there are several Guardian Stalkers that remain, while the rest are either completely destroyed or appear as Decayed Guardians. Combat When spotted, they will gain a purple light all around their body, a fast-paced piano song will cue, and the Guardian Stalker will chase the player at a fast speed, which cannot be outran by normal sprinting. They will aim at the play with a laser and eventually fire a devastating laser, capable of taking away more than 10 hearts with a direct hit, while any of the explosions will produce lots of fire and damage the player by a bit. To reduce the damage, wearing the Ancient Helm, Ancient Cuirass, and/or the Ancient Greaves will help. Like most enemies, players may perform a Headshot to Guardian Stalkers by shooting an arrow to its eye. This will stun them momentarily. Shooting an Ancient Arrow to its eye will result in instantly killing the Guardian Stalker, and it will deal nearly half the damage if shot anywhere else on the body. Guardian Stalkers are resistant to Fire, Ice, and Electricity, so using a Fire Arrow, an Ice Arrow, or a Shock Arrow will be ineffective. However, throwing a weapon (except for the Master Sword and any Boomerang) will give lots of recoil and stun the Guardian Stalker, knocking it off its feet. The laser attack may be countered with a Perfect Guard, which will damage with a large amount of health or instantly killing it, if it hits the Guardian's eye. Failure to do so will result in high damage on the shield if not performed, an explosion around the shield if done a little late, or a direct hit if performed early, so players must take extreme caution when using this tactic. Another useful way to combat Guardian Stalkers is to attack its six legs (some may appear with broken ones already), and each time one is broken, the Guardian is momentarily stunned, giving time for the player to attack, along with dropping at least two ancient parts per leg. Any use of Ancient weapons, Guardian weapons, or the Master Sword is effective, as they will land Critical Hits with every attack. The Ancient Proficiency Set Boost from the Ancient armor set also increases the damage on these weapons. The player cannot use Perfect Dodge/Flurry Rush, as these enemies do not have Melee attacks, and like most enemies, they can detect sounds and movement. Trivia * Despite being able to travel at fast speeds, Guardian Stalkers have a certain distance around them which they can travel to before they turn around.